Machine for turning bobbin blanks



Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,806

\ J. J. WITT MACHINE FOR TURNING BOBBIN BLANKS Filed June 29. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l a as 62 5| Invenion k John J. WHT yMMl W Patented Feb. 26, 1929.

"UNITED; STA'TESPA'T'ENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. WITT, 0F WINCH'ENDON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GOODSPEED- MACHINE COMPANY, OF WINCHENDON, IIASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE I'OR TURNING BOBBIN BLANKS.

Application filed June. 29, 1925. serial No. 40,882.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for turning bobbin blanks and the object thereof is to provide a machine which will turn bobbin blanks accurately and with greater speed than has heretofore been accomplished. In the manufacture of bobbins for use in looms it is desirable that the grain of the wood shall run in the direction of the axis of the bobbin and to insure" this relation of the grain of the wood to the axis of the bobbin it has been customary to split the blanks from which the bobbins were to be constructed from suitable blocks. of wood. vThis not only required highly skilled labor, but resulted in considerable wastage of stock. Furthermore the split blocks were necessarily of more or less irregular character and required great care in centering the blocks upon the lathe and in turning them. It has been found that Wholly satisfactory bobbins can be made from sawed blocks by first carefully slabbing, a substantially knotl'ess section V of a tree trunk, or a limb, in parallelism with the heart thererof, then cutting the slabs at right angles to their surfaces in parallel, substantially square, sections preferably by means of a gang-saw to produce blocks in which the grain of the wood runs in the direc tion of the axis of the block. then turningthe blocks down to form bobbin blanks and there after producing the bobbin from the bobbin blanks thus provided. b

The present invention relates to a machine for rapidly and accurately turning bobbin blanks from substantially rectangular blocks of a character above described and the prin cipal object thereof isto provide means for rapidly and accurately turning the blocks into bobbin blanks comprising a substantially cylindrical barrel with an enlarged cylindrical base which merges in a gradual curve into the barrel. T

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which the bobbin blank can be turned from a block in a single operdifference in power required by the respective driving means to produce such synchronous rotation. This is accomplished in the presentinvention by roviding a :pair of axiall alined live spindles with means for rotating the same in synchronism. Preferably this means comprises a pair ofindependently operable belt mechanisms for the respective spindles with'means for adjusting the tension of the respective belts adapted to cause the required degree of power to be transmitted by the respective belts to the spindles.

. -Another object of the invention is to provide means for varying the field of movement of the knife .in order that bobbin blanks of different diameters mav be produced.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for adjusting the relative position of the-spindles inorder that bobbin blanks of different lengths may be produced.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for relatively moving the live spindles longitudinally during the continuous rotation thereof to release a turned bobbin blank and-to dog a fresh block in combination with means operating in timed relation with such relative movement for posl- -tioning a fresh block in axial alinement with knock off the turned bobbin blank from the spindles during the releasingmovement.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be in the claims.

. In thedrawingsr f Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse sectional View of a bobbin blank turningmachine embodying the invention;

particularly pointed out.

suitable grease cups. V spindle 9 is rotatably mounted ma block 12 after it has been engaged or dogged by the spindles and in position to be turned; and,

Fig. (i is a perspective view illustrating the knife having its edge shaped to conform to the profile of the bobbin blank and its relati'veposition to a block to be turned. V

The machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a bed formed of two oppositely disposed bed rails, preferably channel bars 1 and 2 which are supported at their ends upon suitable standards 3 and 1, the bed serving to su JJOI'i) the turnin and feedin mechanism and the standards providing means for supporting the driving shaft, the cam shaft.

and other actuating mechanisms. 7 A pair of heads 5 and 6 rest upon and are secured to opposite ends of the bed ralls 1 and 2. The

head Sis provided at its ends with upwardly extending members or arms 7 and, 8 providing sections ofbearings for a rotatable or live spindle 9, the bearings 7 and 8 being provided with complementary caps 10' and 11 having The outer end of the and abuts against asuitable thrust hearing which is adapted to be adjusted by a screw 13 seated int-he end of the block 12 and adapted to be clamped in position bya suitable lock nut. The block 12 has secured to its lower end a short shaft 14 which is adj ustabl y live spindle may be properly positioned with relation to the mechanism which feeds and )ositions blocks'in do 'inp' )osition relativeht: c:

1y to the spindle.

The other head 6 likewise is provided with 'upwardlyextending arms or members 16 and 17 forming parts of journals of a live spindle 18 which is in axial alineinent with the spindle 9 and these members likewise are provided with suitable caps to complete the respective bearings. cured in the end of block 19 the outer end of which is bifurcated and provided with a transverse pin 20 to which is connected a link 21 which is pivotally connected to the bifurc'ated upper end of a lever 22 which is fulcrumed upon a stud shaft 23 exten-dinglaterally' from a block 2 1 which is adjustably mounted in a rectangular way 25 in a bracket 26 secured to the bed of the machine. The

By reason of this construction The spindle 18 is rotatably sew block 24 is adjusted by means of a screw 27 whichis seated in the end of the bracket 26 and engages the block 24. .The lower end of the lever 22 is provided with an anti-friction roller 28*which engages a cam 29 upon a cam shaft which is mounted in'suitable bearings in the standards 3 and'h 'The roller 28 is held in engagement with the cam by means of a spring 31 which is secured at one end to the lower arm of; the lev r 22 and at its other em to the end of-the standard 41.

The'spindles 9 and18'desirably are independently driveiu preferably by belt mechanisms. As illustrated herein a main driving shaft 32 is mounted in suitable bearings pen a transverse member 33, (see Fig. 1), of the standards 3 and tand may be provided at" either end with suitable fast and loose pulleys 3d and The shaft-32 has fixedly secured to it a belt pulley 36 which actuates a belt 37 which drives a belt pulley 38 which is fixedly secured to the spindle 9, and desirably is provided with a balance wheel'38 which stores up sufficientpower to cause substantially uniform speed of-rotat-ion of the spindles as the block is engaged by the knife This is essential as in the'constru'ction i lustrated the knifeis so positioned that the portion' of the blade 62, which turns the barrel of the blank, is adjacent to the spindle 9. Consequently the turning down of the rectangular block is begun at the end of the block which is nearest the spindle 9 and a relatively greater torque is imposed upon the spindle 9 than upon the spindle 18. By providing independentadjustments for tensioning the belt 37 from that which acts upon the belt which drives the spindle 18 these belts can be so adjusted to transmit proper torque to the respective sp' es to nu" tain a synchronous rotation oi both spindles.

Suitable means are provided for adjusting the tension upon the belt 37. Thebelttightening mechanism which is illustrated herein comprises a lever 39 which is mounted at its lower end upon a suitable pivot 10 carried by the standard 3, or a bracket projecting therefrom, and at its upper end is irovided with a roll 11 which engages the belt 37.7 A U-shaped link 4-2 straddles the lever 39 and is pivotally connected thereto. screw 13 is engaged in the transverse portion of the U-shaped link i2 and extends through a sleeve 44 which. is pivotally mounted upon a stud i-5 fixedly secured to the standard The screw "3 has at its end a hand wheel 4L6 which abuts against the end oft-he sleeve By rotating the hand wheel 46 the screw is caused to adjust the position of the lever 39 "and consequently adapted to cause the roll 41 to press against the belt 37 with greater or less force as may be'requir'ed.

The shaft 32 is also provided with a belt pulley 47 similar to the beltpulley 36. The belt pulley 4'7 drives a belt 48 which passes 'By reason of this construction the tension of the belts 37 and 48 respectively canbe varied in such a manner as to cause thepower transmitted thereby to produce synchronous rotation and the required toriplile upon the opposite ends of the block whic is carried by the spindles and being turned down by the knife.

The preferred cutter mechanism which is illustrated herein is'in the form of a heavy block comprising parallel-upper and lower plates 50 and 51 having integral end arms 52 and 53 which are pivotally mounted upon conical screws 54 and 55 respectively seated in arms 56 and 57 of a bracket 58 thebody of which is connected by bolt and slot connections 59 to, a supporting block 60 which is fixedly secured to the bed rails 1 and 2 substantially centrally of the machine. The bracket 58 is adapted to be adjusted vertically by a plurality of set screws 61 which pass through a rearwardly extending flange upon the block 60 engaging the under side of the bracket 58, it being understood that the bolts 59will be loosened during the adj ustment and set-up when the desired adjustment is pro-- duced. By reason of this adjustment the knife may be properly positioned as will hereinafter more fully appear. Y r

The knife 62 is located between theupper and lower plates 50 and 51. and clamped against the upper plate by a plurality of screws 63 which are seated in the block 50 and abut at their upper ends against the blade 62. The plate 51 is provided atits inner end with an upwardly extending relatively thick flange 64 to which is secured a plurality of adjustable gauges 65 which. may be positioned in predetermined relation to the edge of the knife. An outwardly diverging aperture 66 through the plate 51 and its flange 64 provides means for discharging the shavings from the knife. The knife-supporting mem bers and knife are heavy as before stated and feed the knife to the work by the action of gravity. The descent of the knife may be controlled by any suitable mechanism. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herein the central portion'of the plate 50 of .from a bracket which depends from the bed rails 1 and 2. The opposite end of the lever 70 is provided with an anti-friction roll 72 which rests upon the periphery of a cam 73 mounted upon a stud 89 upon the bracket 76 the rack being held in engagement with the ratchet 87 by a leaf spring'9O which is cured to the under face of the bracket and which is fixedly secured to a cam shaft 74 journalled in suitable hearings in the standards 3 and 4. The cam 73 is of such form as to cause the rapid raising of the lever 70 to raise the knife after the completion of the.

cutting operation and gradually to permit the knife to descend during the cutting action thereof.

Suitable means are provided for feeding the blocks to the spindles and positioning the same between the ends of the spindles during the relativelongitudinal movement of said spindles and positioning means are also provided for holding the positioned block in accurate alinement with the axis of the spin- .dle until the dogging movement of the spindles, these mechanisms being so timed. that when the centers'of the spindles have engaged the ends of the positioned block the feedin mechanism and positioning mechanism wil be withdrawn to permit immediate rotation of the block as the dogs upon the ends of the spindles engage theends of the positioned block. v v

The block-supporting and feeding mechanism comprises a table 75 which is reciprocably mounted upon a bracket 76 which is adjustably secured tothe bed rail 2 by a bolt and slot connection 77 and which 'isadjusted vert-icallyby suitable screws 78 passing through a flange or boss extending laterally fronithe lower portion of the bed rail 2 and abutting on the underface of the bracket 76.

The table is guided between lateral ways 79 and 80 which are secured to the. bracket 76.

v A feeding belt 81-passes over the table 7 5 and around rollers 82 and 83 atthe outer and inner ends ofthe tableand also around a belttightening roller 84 which is carried at the end of arms 85 pivotally mounted upon the bracket 76. The belt-tightening roller is forced against the belt by a spring 86 which may be secured to the frame in any suitable manner (not shown). The roller 82 has secured to its end or to its shaft a ratchet 87 which is engaged by the toothed vouterendof a rack 88, the inner end ofwhich is pivotally bears upwardl upon the, rack.

The blocks rom which the bobbin blanks are to be turned are positioned. upon the belt andare held down upon the belt by a suitablemember 94 issecured to the side ofthe table and a shaft 95 is reciprocably mounted in suitable'bearings in the arms of this U-shaped "member. The ends of the shaft 95 are provided with collars 98 and springs 97 are interposed between therespective collars and the outer face of the arms of the U-shaped memendof which is'pivotally connected to the upper end of a substantially vertical arm 101 of a bell crank lever-which is fulcrumed upon astud shaft 102 earned at the lower end of brackets 108 which are securedto the under face of the bed rails land 2. The other arm 104 of the bell crank lever has at its end a laterally extending roller 105 which runs in vthe groove of a substantially heart-shaped cam 106 which is secured to the cam shaft 7 4.

This cam is of such shape as tocause the table to dwell during the turning of the bobbin blank from the block and then rapidly to ad vance the table relatively to the position of the spindles (to the right as illustrated in Fig. 1) and also rapidly'to retract the same afterthe block has been engaged by the spindlesr As the table is thus moved by the heart-shaped cam toward the spindles the toothed rack 88 by its engagementwith the ratchet 87 upon the roller 82 causes the roller 4 82 to rotate and drives the upper lead of the belt in the direction of movement of the table,

7' that is to the right as illustrated in Fig. 1, thus feeding the blocks along the table as the table is advancing and finally forcingjthe block forward so thatthe block of the series which is to be positioned will rest upon an extension 107 of the table and; project slightly therebeyond as thetable reaches its maximum movement toward the spindles. This movement will position the axis of'the block directly in alinement with the axis of the spindles which at this time have been separatedby the lever 22 and cam 29 as aboveedescribed.

' Suitable means are'p'rovided for assisting in positioning the block in axial alinement with thespindle as will hereinafter be described; The cam shaft which actuates'the cutter and the feeding Inechamsm s driven by a countershaft from the main'driving shaft at a greatly reduced speed and is man ually controlled by the following mechanism.

The countcrshaft 108 is mounted at one end in 1 'the feed table in axial alinement with the i a bearing in a transversemember of the standard 3 and at its opposite ends in a boss 108 extending forwardly from one of the brackets 103 and is provided with a belt pulley 109 which is driven by a belt 110 from a much smaller belt pulley 111 on the main shaft. A train of gears transmits the rotation of the countershaft 108 to the cam shaft and,. preferably these gears are so eonstrnctedas to per= struction may be employedfor this purpose. I

As illustrated herein a pinion 112 upon the end of a countershaft engages an idle gear 113 which is mounted upon a stud shaft 114 extending from a boss 115 carried by a bracket 116 which is secured to the frame, the boss 115 and its stud shaft 114 lying beyond the vertical plane of the gear 112. A relatively small pinion upon the stud shaft 114- and which may be. made integral with the gear 113 engages a gear 117 upon the cam shaft 74. Thusa sufiicient reduction is produced to provide for the proper rotation of the a cam shaft 74. I V

' The operation of the counter-shaft and the camshaft is manually controlled by means acting upon the belt 110 to cause it either to drive the countershaft or to permit such slippage of the belt as elfectivelyito arrest'the rotation of the countershaft and cam shaft. The mechanism for accomplishing this purpose comprises a belt-tightening pulley 118 which is mounted upon ashaft 119 project- 7 ing from the end of one arm 120 of a bell crank lever which is pivotally mounted upon a stud projecting-from a boss 121 on one of the brackets 103 which depend from the bed rails 1 and 2. The other arm 122 of the bell crank lever is connected to a link 123 which is pivotally mounted at its upper end upon a pivot 124 carried by a disk 125 fixedly secured upon a shaft 126 which is mounted in suitable brackets'127 projecting from the side of the bed rail 2. The shaft 126 has a hand lever 1 128 secured toit. The pivot 124 is so located upon the disk that when in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 the belt-tightening pulley 118 will be-forced firmly against the belt,

but when the lever 128 is swung over to the a left from the positionillustrated in Fig. 2 the pivot 124 will be carried beyond the axis of the shaft 126 and permitted to descend sufficiently to release the belt t-ightening pulley 118 fromeffective engagement with the belt, thereby loosening the belt andproviding the slippage above referred to. Thus'the operator will atall times have control of the V feeding mechanism and .coincidently also the knife-actuating mechanism, both of which are actuated from'the cam shaft.

-The positioning mechanism forproperly locating the blocks which are advanced by spindles which is illustrated herein comprises an abutment129 in the form of an arm, the

outer end of'which is adapted to engage a with'a bolt and slot connection 130 to the cutter-supporting block 60-, 1' A. suitable gauge 131 is adapted to engage the opposite end of the block, the gauge 131 being in the form of a substantially L-shaped arm which is pivotally mounted upon a stud 132r extending upwardly from an adjustable plate 133 which is pivotally connected at its opposite end by a bolt 134 to the cutter-supporting block and is provided intermediate of'its ends with a slot through whicha clamping screw 135 passes into the block 60. The central portion of the L-shaped gauge member 131 is connected by'a link 136 to an arm 137 which projectsoutwardly from the block 19 which is'connected to the live spindle 18. De-

sirably theconnection between the link 136 and the arm 137 is adjustable andas shown herein comprises a small block 138 through which the link 136 passes and is secured vided with a thereto by a set screw 139. The block 138 is pivotally connected to the arm 137 by a bolt 140; r

The laterall extending arm 137 is also pro oss 141 to which is connected a'rod 142 which extends through the arms 16 and 17 of the head 6. The rod 142is provided with a collar 143 which engages one end of a helical spring 144 the oppositeend of-which abuts against the upwardly extending arm 17 of the head. The spring 144' therefore tends to force the spindle longitudinally awa from work-engaging position and aids orcingv the lower end of the lever 22 against the cam 29.

In the operation of the machine as the live spindle 18 is moved longitudinally (to the left) the link 136 is drawn to the left rocking the gauge 131 about its pivot to the position illustrated in Fig. 4, while the movement of the live spindle 18 to the right causes the link 136 to move longitudinally in the opposite direction, thereby rocking the gauge 131 out of engagement with the end of the block as illustrated in Fig. 5.. The movement ofthe spindle after-its center has engaged the end of the block forces the block laterally into engagement with thedogs of the opposite axially alined spindle and moves theblock be yond the gauge 129 to theposition illustrated in Fig. 5 so that as the block is dogged it is freed from engagement with both the gauges 129and 131. In the meantime the table will move backward so that the block is free to rotate and to be turned down by the descendingknife. I

.A suitable knock-out mechanism provided for discharging the turned bobbin blank from the spindles during the axial releasing movement of the spindle 18. This mechanism, which is particularly illustrated pivot and the hammer 145 and the lower end of the link 1 49 which is twisted through ninety-degrees is pivotally connected to the outer end of a lever 1'50 which'is fulcrumed upon the countershaft 108. The opposite end of the lever 150 is provided with a cam follower'roll .151 which engages the groove of a cam 152 which is fixedly secured to the cam shaft 74. The cam 152 is so shaped and so positioned that thelever 150 will be rocked about its pivot shortly after the live spindle 18'is withdrawn longitudinally from engagement with the endof the bobbin blank so that the hammer 145 will be caused to descend and strike the turned bobbin blank and discharge it from the spindles.

In the operation of the machine the belt it first shifted from the loose pulley 35 to the tight pulley 34 of the driving shaft so that the spindles are rotated through their respective driving belts 37 and 48, these spindles being continuously rotated during the operation of the machine. Rectangular blocks of wood A, which as above described, have been so sawed that the grain runs in the direction of the axis of the blocks areplaced be successively placed upon the belt as the forward blocks are successively turned down by the machine. The feeding mechanism is then started by swinging the hand lever-128 to the position illustrated in- Fig. 2. This causes the belt-tightening roller 118 forcibly to engage the driving belt 1100f the counter- I shaft 108 and thereby-to rotatethe-belt pulley 109 and the countershaft 108. The power from the counter'shaft is transmitted'through thetrain of gears to the crank shaft 74. The rotation of the crank shaft causes the cam 106 to depress the follower roller 105 of the arm 104- of the bell crank lever so that the other arm 101 of the lever, acting through the link 100, reciprocates the table toward the spindles to the right of the position shown in-F ig.-1. This bodily movement of the table causes the engagement ofthe ratchet87 with the toothed rack 88 to rotatethe roller 82 which drives the feeding belt 81 so that the blocks which rest upon the beltare advanced simultaneously with the movement of the table toward the spindles so that the first block is positioned accurately with respect to the center of the spindles. This positioning is ,insured by the engagement of the block with the gauges 129and 131 (see Fig. 4), The table is permitted to yield when' the block engages the gauges 129 and 131 by reason of the resilient connections formed by the shaft 95 to which the link 100 is connected through the arm 98, this resilient connection comprising the springs 97 which are located upon opposite sides of the arms of ins the bracket 94 and between said arms and the collars 96 which are secured upon the shaft 95. Thus the center of the block is placed in accurate alinementwith the centers of the spindles so that the grain of the wood runs in the direction of the axis of the alined spindles. As soon as the block is thus positioned the cam 29, acting upon the lever 22,

rocks the lever about its fulcrum 23 and forces the spindle 18 longitudinally into engagement with the end of the block. The

spindle continuing its movement forces the block against the opposite spindle, thus dogging the block upon both spindles. This longitudinal movement of the block frees it from the gauge 129.- The longitudinal movement of the 7V spindle also simultaneously moves the rod 136 longitudinally thereby swinging'the pivotally mounted dog 131 out "of engagement with the block as illustrated in Fig. 5, thus freeing the block at the time it is dogged by the spindles.

This dogging of the block upon the spindlesis accomplished by a very rapid movement as will be readily noted by observation of thecontour of the cam29. Immediately after the block has been dogged by the spindle the knife is permittedto descend, the descent of the knife being controlled through the vertical post or rod 67 which is connected to the lever 70 which has upon its end the follower roll 7 2 engaging the surface of the cam 73. During the downward movement of the knife the folower 72 rests upon the grad ually curved surface of the cam 73 so that the descent of theknife is relatively slow. Theknife first-engages the portion of the block which is adjacent to the spindle 9 which is held against longitudinal movement and vibration of the'spindle is effectively overcome by the power stored up in the fly wheel which is securedto the spindle 9 and by the relatively tight=belt mechanism which drives the spindle 9. The tension of the belt 1 which drives the spindle 18 may be adjusted by the belt-tightening mechanism which engages it so that synchronous rotation of the operates to move the spindle 18 longitudinally.

to releaseth'eturned bobbin blank. During this-releasing movement the knock-off hammer 1 15 is actuated through the link M9 and lever 150 by the cam 152 to-cause the hammer 14 5 to strike the blank and discharge it into a suitable chute which delivers it from the machine.

The feeding of the bobbin blanks to the turning mechanism may be arrested'by swing A ing the lever 128 from the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to the left until the pivot 12% of the set to turn bobbins of different lengths byadjusting the position of the fulcrum 23 of the lever 22 which moves the spindleaxially although under ordinary conditions the table of the machine will be constructed in such a manner thatthe edges of the table will. lie closely adjacent to the ends of the blocks. I It will be understood that the particular embodiment of the invention described herein is of an illustrative character and isfnot restrictive and that various changes may be made in form, construction and operation within the spirit and scope of the following claims. 1 r Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is: 1 V

1. A machine forturning from .a rectangular wooden block a bobbin blankhaving' a base of relatively larger diameter thanthat of the barrel of the blank comprising a knife presenting an edge conforming to the profile of the bobbin blank and means for feeding the knife to the block, a longitudinally immovoble belt driven spindle having means to engage the block atthe end which is to be turned down to the smaller diameter, a fly wheel fixedly secured to said spindle operable to compensate for the heavier duty imposed upon said spindleby the greater resistance'of the portion of the knife adjacent thereto, a co-operating longitudinallymovable belt driven live spindle axially alined with said longitudinally immovable spindle, and independent means for adjusting the tension of the spindle driving belts to insure synchro nous rotation of said-spindles.- i

2. A machine for turning blanks from rectangular blocks comprising a pair of axially alined live spindles, means for rotating the spindles at the same speed, a knife, means for automatically feeding the knife relatively to said block, means for reciprocating one of said spindles axially first to release a turned blank and then to dog a fresh block, means automatically operable in timed relation to the axial movement of said reciprocating spindle to position a fresh block between said spindles in axial alinement therewith, a fixed stop so positioned as to engage the block adj acent the end thereof which is to be engaged by the axially movable spindle'and to be disen aged when said block is moved longitudina 1y upon the dogging action of said spindle, a swinging stop positioned to engage the opposite end portion of the block, whereby the positioning of the block relatively to the spindles is insured and means connecting said swinging stop to said axially movable spindle operable during the dogging movement of said spindle to remove said stop from engagement with said block.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN J. WITT. 

